Man spends 24 hours in Toronto Denny's after losing bet, raises almost $6K for charity
At first, Juan Delgado agreed to spend 24 hours inside a Dundas St. Denny’s as a consequence of losing in his fantasy football league.
Delgado told CTV News Toronto Tuesday he joined the league as they were looking for a 12th person, and thought it’d be fun despite not having participated in years.
“I didn’t really take the penalty seriously, because I’m like, ‘They’re not actually going to make anybody go 24 hours at a Denny’s – that’s silly,’” he said. “But the debate on the [league’s] thread was crazy. They’re like, ‘For the integrity of the league, we must uphold our penalties.’”
“I realized I couldn’t get out of it, and then thought to myself, ‘Okay, this is gonna be 24 hours. It’s a waste of a day. What do I do to make it worthwhile?” he added.
After thinking of various “creative, silly ideas,” Delgado says it dawned on him to turn his penalty into a positive action and fundraise for a good cause. That’s when the ‘Making Denny’s Great Again’ fundraiser for Wagner Green YMCA was born.
“I was lucky enough to do a walkthrough of the Wagner Green YMCA in the summer, and I was just so impressed by the work that they do that when I was thinking of a charity or place to put the money towards, it just seemed to make sense,” Delgado said, noting the branch is also nearby the Denny’s on Dundas.
Juan Delgado with Nelson Borges, Director of Youth Outreach and Intervention at the YMCA of Greater Toronto. (Courtesy of Juan Delgado)
24 HOURS AT DENNY'S
After clearing the plan with the restaurant, Delgado kicked off his 24 hours at the breakfast chain on Saturday night, at around 8 p.m.
“I thought I would start the eating with something light, and kind of pace myself, you know, not to go too crazy. Well, the first thing I had was mozzarella sticks – and I’m lactose intolerant,” he said.
During his 24-hour stay, Delgado said he went on to dine on chicken tenders – “which I lovingly call chicken tendies” –, a smoothie in the middle of the night, a turkey sandwich, french toast, soup, hashbrowns, more chicken “tendies,” and a steak dinner to wrap up the event.
Delgado said his friends came over to support him throughout the night, including Run The Burbs star Andrew Phung, who dropped by with his son.
Outside of visits, Delgado said he only dozed off for about 45 minutes. He recalled running into the after-party crowd late on Saturday night and the Sunday morning brunch crowd, and says he also got to connect with restaurant staff, who gave him all his food and drink for free come the end of his stay.
Within the first 24 hours, Delgado raised $1,000.
Now, the fundraiser is sitting at $5,736, and Delgado hopes he can cross the $6,000 mark before the end of the week, when he plans on taking the page down.
“The fundraising aspect was beautiful, and the amount I raised was unbelievable, I’m still flabbergasted that the community was able to support in such a way, but the staff there also made it just that much better,” he said.
Nelson Borges, the Director of Youth Outreach and Intervention at Wagner Green YMCA, told CTV News Toronto in an emailed statement that it’s “amazing” to see how much support Delgado had received with the fundraiser, and that they are focused on creating more housing options for youth.
“When young people are ready to leave the shelter, these funds will allow us to secure many supplies that they need to transition to independent living and move into their new place,” Borges said.
“Also, donations allow us to provide more on-site programming focused on increasing their skills, building their confidence, preparing them to living independently, and building connections in the community," he added.
"What started off as a lost bet has transformed into something meaningful for the youth who find support at the Wagner Green YMCA.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Canadian gov't proposes new foreign influence registry as part of wide-spanning new bill
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government is proposing a suite of new measures and law changes aimed at countering foreign interference in Canada, amid extensive scrutiny over past meddling attempts and an ever-evolving threat landscape.
Boeing Starliner capsule's first crewed test flight postponed
The long-awaited first crewed test flight of Boeing's new Starliner space capsule was called off for at least 24 hours over a technical issue that launch teams were unable to resolve in time for the planned Monday night lift-off.
Teacher charged in historical sexual assault of Calgary teenage girl
Calgary police have charged a teacher with the alleged sexual assault of a teenage girl more than 20 years ago.
Winnipeg man admits to killing four women, argues he's not criminally responsible
Defence lawyers of Jeremy Skibicki have admitted in court the accused killed four Indigenous women, but argues he is not criminally responsible for the deaths by way of mental disorder – this latest development has triggered a judge-alone trial rather than a jury trial.
Man banned from owning animals after fatal Calgary dog attack
The owner of three Calgary dogs that got loose and mauled a woman to death in 2022 has been ordered to pay a $15,000 fine within one year and banned from owning any animal for 15 years.
East-end Ottawa family dealing with massive rat infestation
Residents in Ottawa’s Elmridge Gardens complex are dealing with a rat infestation that just won’t go away. Now, after doing everything they can to try to fix the issue, they are pleading with the city to step in and help.
Mediterranean staple may lower your risk of death from dementia, study finds
A daily spoonful of olive oil could lower your risk of dying from dementia, according to a new study by Harvard scientists.
An El Nino-less summer is coming. Here's what that could mean for Canada
As Canadians brace themselves for summer temperatures, forecasters say a weakening El Nino cycle doesn’t mean relief from the heat.
Newfoundland and Labrador latest province to tighten rules on Airbnbs
Newfoundland and Labrador is the latest jurisdiction to bring in stricter rules for short-term rentals, with a coming set of regulations that will force operators to register with the provincial government.